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MIT Engineers World's First Schizophrenic Mice

Posted by kdawson on from the beautiful-little-minds dept.

Frosty Piss writes "MIT researchers have created a schizophrenic mouse that pinpoints a gene variation predisposing people to schizophrenia. Research with the mouse may lead to the first genetically targeted drugs for the disease, which affects 1 percent of the population worldwide. This is the first study that uses animals who demonstrate an array of symptoms observed in schizophrenic patients to identify specific genes that predispose people to the disease."

13 of 159 comments (clear)

  1. Wrong. by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 5, Funny

    Pinky (or was it the Brain?) was the first schizophrenic mouse.

    1. Re:Wrong. by mwvdlee · · Score: 4, Funny

      There are just SO many joke opportunities about schizophrenic mice racing through my mind that I seem to be unable to filter out one specifically.

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  2. This may be a really ignorant question, but... by blcamp · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ...exactly how would a human *know* if a mouse is schizophrenic?

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    1. Re:This may be a really ignorant question, but... by sveard · · Score: 5, Funny

      The mouse was seen using an axe hacking through a mouse sized door, shouting .. "Here's Pinky!"

    2. Re:This may be a really ignorant question, but... by packetmon · · Score: 4, Informative

      By deleting a single gene in a small portion of the brains of mice, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center found that the animals were affected in a way resembling schizophrenia in humans.

      After the gene was removed, the animals, which had been trained to use external cues to look for chocolate treats buried in sand, couldn't learn a similar task, the researchers report in a paper appearing in today's issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.

      Dr. Robert Greene, professor of psychiatry, and his colleagues have found that eliminating a gene in a mouse's brain creates memory problems that are reminiscent of schizophrenia. T he researchers deleted the gene, which codes for a part of a protein involved in passing signals between nerve cells needed for learning and memory. When a similar protein is blocked by drugs in humans, it leads to a psychotic state similar to schizophrenia.

      ORIGINAL
      Technically, MIT wasn't first:
      Schizophrenia - Mice With Defective Memory May Hold Clues
      Main Category: Schizophrenia News
      Article Date: 23 Jan 2006 - 21:00 PDT
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    3. Re:This may be a really ignorant question, but... by SomeDanGuy · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not a bad question. This article title is actually misleading - this is NOT the first model of a 'schizophrenic mouse'; it is the first one to identify a specific gene involved.
      Animal models of these complex psychiatric diseases are always a bit questionable. This one seems to have bad memory formation, attention problems, and poor social skills. The researchers believe that's enough to call it a model of schizophrenia, but that's very difficult to say for sure.

    4. Re:This may be a really ignorant question, but... by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 4, Informative

      Animal models of these complex psychiatric diseases are always a bit questionable. This one seems to have bad memory formation, attention problems, and poor social skills. The researchers believe that's enough to call it a model of schizophrenia, but that's very difficult to say for sure.


      Right. These are just 'schizotypical' symptomps. Many other disorders feature schizotypical behaviour, including several developmental disorders, such as multiple-complex developmental disorder and other disorders like shizotypical personality disorder, which feature schizotypical behaviour but are not true schizophrenia. I suspect that these mice have more of the latter disorders (which are thought to be genetic) rather than actual schizophrenia (which may or may not be genetic).

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    5. Re:This may be a really ignorant question, but... by Walt+Dismal · · Score: 3, Funny
      This one seems to have bad memory formation, attention problems, and poor social skills.

      Wait. Are we talking about a mouse, or a guy with an iPhone at Starbucks?

  3. I'm conflicted by thatskinnyguy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm all for animal testing and all. I'm no animal rights advocate by a long shot; but intentionally giving mice schizophrenia seems a bit wrong to me. Schizophrenia runs in my family and I want to see a cure as much as anyone else. Therein lies the conflict. I suppose the mouse gets it if the experiment can do some good.

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    1. Re:I'm conflicted by HangingChad · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Schizophrenia runs in my family

      That's a tough one. I think it would be worth trading a lot of mice for a cure.

      In the meantime it might be helpful to bring attention to the absolutely abysmal state of mental health care in this country. Something you won't know about unless you or a close relative has a serious mental illness. Half the people you see living on the street are there because they have mental illness and can't navigate the byzantine legal process to get disability benefits. Apparently the right wing thinks they're faking so they not work and drink all day. Even if they could stop trying to self-medicate with alcohol, most wouldn't be able to manage a checkbook even if they could get through the process and there's nowhere for them to go. Your options around here are the crisis line, which is useless, or primary care (the mental hospital). If they don't have health insurance they'll get a T&R (treat and release) and that's how they end up on park benches.

      Most states have closed their assisted living centers and state mental hospitals because of cutbacks in federal funding. Where to you think those people go? They usually get lumped in with people with AIDS and criminals. Great atmosphere for recovery. The druggies steal their meds and they're right back to having street lights sending them messages from the mother ship. It varies. Some states are better than others, but overall mental health care in the US, if you don't have health insurance, sucks ass. That doesn't get much attention, but let them leave "In God We Trust" off a dollar coin and people are all up about that. Hypocrites.

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    2. Re:I'm conflicted by ChrisA90278 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Have you ever watch a wild mouse in the field? Not an easy life. Almost all of them die young. If you watch, they live a life trying to balance fear and starvation. They will go out and forage but they are always looking all around and up. they know instinctivley that they are prey for cats, hawks, foxes and whatever. They have to come out if hiding to eat but if they do the chances are nearly 100% that one day they will be killed and eaten. Mice may actually like cages -- an enclosed space where food magically appears -- heaven _before_ you de, what a deal. Mice are fearful of open spaces and open sky overhead. they prefer to be inside a small enclosed space near a supply of food.

      Humans are built to cover much ground while using little energy. Bipedal locomotion (walking upright on two feet) means you can search a lot of area and don't use up much food/energy in the process. For a million yars our ancestors were hunters and gatherers that search large areas for food. Humans tend to have an instinctive need to move around and don't like confinement.

      We make the mistake of thinking all animals are like humans. Animals that are on the bottom of the food chain are not like us at all.

  4. pick your reality by Jay+Carlson · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Schizophrenia is hell, and I don't think I'm stretching that much. This is a geek audience, right? Well, let's just consider a world where you can do a scientific experiment and find a result that only you can confirm. Over and over again.

    The standard narrative of schizophrenia that we've all internalized is that it's somehow a weakness of an individual. That can't be true, especially if it can be induced.

  5. What white mouse _isn't_ schizophrenic? by fygment · · Score: 4, Interesting

    To be a white mouse is to be nestled in an alien environment of metal and bars, forced under threat of punishment to perform acts that have no relation to natural instincts, fed an array of processed and unnatural (to a mouse) foods, all while being watched by alien creatures that frequently whisk away your mouse friends and colleagues who, if they are returned, are often physically and psychologically damaged. Frankly, that any white mouse is considered "sane" by the researchers is a very telling commentary about the mental state of those running the laboratory.

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